Unnatural Selection
by TrappedDream
Summary: There's no love. Only survival. At least that was what I thought, until my world spiraled out of control. Eric/OC
1. Love vs Survival

_********______**A.N: So, this is me trying my hand at True Blood fanfiction community! Hi everyone! :D **_

_********______**Disclaimer: ****I don't own anything, True Blood belongs to the HBO and Charlaine Harris, and any resemblance **_**______********between my OC's and real persons, dead or undead is purely coincidental.****______******** I also don't own the title.**

_********______************______******PS: Rating will probably change :) For now, I'm just testing waters:D**_

_********______************______******Spoilers: The plot starts from 2nd season**_

* * *

"I love my job, I love my job, I love my job…" I muttered to myself as I drummed my fingernails on the steering wheel, checking the rear mirror while turning the radio.

_The meeting today for the marriage law between vampires and humans is going to take place at seven-_

_The protests in the rural area of-_

_Nan Flanagan has stated this will be a major development in vampire human –_

_While a lot of couples have already applied for_-

_While the gossip of hunters-"_ I frowned, turning up the volume _"That has been sent to different states in concern of these protests seem to be very popular among the vampires, there has not been any pronouncements from the government. The clans seem to keep their silence, but as long as hunters are involved, we can be sure that sooner or later, an announcement will be made. Now onto the road condition-_

"Great…" I muttered, looking for a decent radio station "Aren't we mysterious…"

As much as I could speak for my own clan, we did not like to share secrets. You could say it was because of the traditions, or government, but I call it out of respect. For both alive and undead.

And yet press seems to like to twist the stories very much.

Here's the thing, although the vampires have not been out of the coffins for too long, -at least publicly- some clans all around the world had been raising and training the hunters for centuries. So when vampires made themselves known to the world, the government thought, why not use the clans for their own benefit?

So, we were hired for the government. Well, at least after going through different facilities, different tests, different experiments…

Now, we couldn't start any fight against vampires –complicated diplomatic stuff- but we did know how to fight, and protect –contrary to people's common belief about how we're brainwashed into killing vampires-. Especially in clan we were taught to protect mortal and immortal from each other. In both sides.

Well, we did lean towards one side more, but still…

As far as the job goes we also had to check up on vampires where they formed as groups and observe, and interfere if something happened, hence the _Welcome To Louisiana_ sign I had just left behind.

Yep, I pulled the short straw.

Whatever. Southern hospitality, right?

I was pulled out of my thoughts when my phone started ringing and I reached out, then answered it

"Hello?"

"Hey Val."

"Hey there." I smiled almost instantly at my friend's voice "What's up Connor?"

"In Texas already. You?"

"About to arrive the house." I heaved a sigh "Fun."

"You have no idea. But hey, it's just for a year."

"Yep." I muttered as I looked around, and pulled over

"Hey, did the director call you yet?"

I frowned "No." I said "Why? Did he call you?"

"Yeah, to learn if I got here."

"As if the GPS they put in the cars don't show it." I said and he chuckled

"And to learn if I saw something out of ordinary."

"In the daylight?" I asked "What do they expect? Vampires to walk in the sun and tell us _'Welcome hunters! Rawr!_'?"

He chuckled "Right… Workaholic paranoid, I'm telling you. He should go and get laid or something."

I snickered "Gotta go and unpack, talk to you later?"

"Yeah."

"Try not to knock anyone up!"

"I'll try!" he said and hung up. Me on the other hand just stared out of the window, and pushed open my door. I grabbed the keys from my pocket and unlocked the front door, then stepped into the house.

"Nice…" I muttered, taking a look into the house. A living room with furnitures, a kitchen, and I guessed the bedroom was upstairs. I treaded inside silently, trying to make the view feel familiar to me. If I was going to spend a year here, I had better got used to it sooner.

I walked outside to get my luggage and boxes from my trunk, then walked back inside again. After putting them down, I took out my knife and closed the door, then scratched a little symbol –the symbol of my clan- to under the doorknob. I walked to the luggage, opened it and took out one of the items my grandmother had given me for protection, and placed it beside the door.

"One more thing…" I muttered to myself and took a pot from the boxes, went to the the kitchen and turned the tap on. While the pot was being filled, I walked outside and looked around to find any weed on the garden.

_Great_.

I picked a yellow, dead leaf up and then reached out and plucked a green one from the tree. I walked to the kitchen, turned the tap off and placed the pot onto the counter.

"For the dead…" I muttered, putting the dead leaf into the water "The alive-" I put the green leaf into the water as well and took out my necklace. After pricking my finger with my knife, I smeared the blood onto necklace

"And the hunter." I whispered, dropping it into the water. I walked to the porch, and after murmuring an ancient prayer my grandmother had taught me into the water, I spilled it onto the porch, careful to reach every side of it. When it was done, I put the pot aside and bent down to pick up the leaves and my necklace, but I paused when I caught the side of the dead leaf.

"What the…"

The necklace was on the dead leaf, and when I picked it up, I saw that the blood I had smeared onto necklace was smeared on the dead leaf too. While the green leaf was completely clear, the dead leaf looked more reddish, because of the that.

A shiver ran down my spine and I tried not to think about how bad this omen was. I put the leaves onto ground and put my necklace on, my hands shaking slightly.

"Okay…" I told to myself "Calm. It's nothing."

I was startled when my phone started ringing and I took it out of my pocket, clearing my throat

"Hello?"

"Miss Warren."

I straightened my back out of the habit "Yes sir."

"Have you arrived?"

"Yes sir, I was just… doing the rituals of my clan before unpacking." I said, touching my necklace

"Have you seen anything unusual?"

"No sir." I answered "I was thinking of blending in with the people, then going to-" I frowned trying to remember the name. When I couldn't, I searched my pockets and found the piece of paper I was looking for "To Fangtasia to see if anything is unusual. Not to mention there has been 25 complaints of feeding off unwilling people for the last month in that bar."

"Good thinking." He said "Try not to blow your cover, but do not let this limit your actions. I trust you to know the difference."

I nodded "Yes sir."

"And Warren?"

"Yes sir?"

"Check out your basement."

I frowned slightly "Yes sir." I said and he hung up. I took a deep breath and entered the house, then went downstairs to the basement. As soon as I opened the door, I let out a whistle

There were countless stakes, weapons and a big screen –probably for briefings and such- on the walls. I could see a colloidal silver spray at the top of the door and a bottle of maenad blood, also water with silver bits on the shelves. The bed at the corner had silver chains all around it, and I let out a laugh without really feeling like it.

"Kinky."

* * *

After unpacking, I went out to porch and sat down onto a step. I pulled a cigarette and lit it, then inhaled deeply, closing my eyes.

I was all alone, once again.

It wasn't like I minded. Really. I could barely remember what not being alone felt like anyways. I knew what would happen once I accepted to work as a hunter, but…

The memory of blood and a loud scream flashed through my brain and I opened my eyes taking another drag, and blew out, watching the smoke dance in the air before disappearing.

The past is a dominatrix bitch with a whip.

I tried to shake off the thoughts. I was in a calm, southern village, probably the thing that would bother me the most would be my boredom. It was safe, and silent.

A nice town with nice people, away from…

Horror.

I was pulled away from my thoughts as I heard footsteps coming closer and raised my head. A blonde guy was approaching me with a covered plate in his hands. The instincts kicked in and I slowly reached for the stake in my boots, but did not move, just stayed on alert.

_Southern hospitality, Southern hospitality…_

"Hi, um… I'm Jason Stackhouse." He said, stopping in front of me, looking extremely uncomfortable "My-uh… I ain't no pervert, don't get me wrong, my- uh, my sister saw you moving in earlier this morning, and… she thought since you just moved in you might not have anything to eat, and she made you something, but had to go to work so-" he waved the plate in his hand rather hard and almost dropped it, but managed to catch it again "If you're hungry…"

I felt a smile warm my face and stubbed the cigarette, then stood up

"Hi," I said, taking the plate from him so that we could shake hands "I'm Valeria Warren. It's very nice to meet you."

"You too." He said "So I should probably leave, and.. um, enjoy them." He nodded at the plate and I shook my head

"You wanna sit?" I asked "I'm willing to share."

"Yeah sure." He said a little too quickly and I sat down, then he sat beside me

"Cucpcakes!" I cheered when I uncovered the plate "Your sister is very kind, please tell her I said thank you… I was actually starving." I grabbed one and took a bite "And I didn't know where people ate here so…"

"Well, there's Merlotte's, Sookie works there." Jason said "My sister, I mean."

"Oh."

_Merlotte's..._ I made a mental note _Alrighty_.

"So what brought you here?" he said as he grabbed a cupcake "Where are you from?"

"Um…Washington." I made up a lie

He whistled "Why did you come here?"

"Well…" I took another bite and took some time to think as I chewed "I needed a vacation." I shrugged "You know? To…get away from stuff. To relax, and calm down…"

Now to think of it, it wasn't a complete lie. I did need to get away, after my last case.

"Well you came to the right place." He said "Bon Temps is calm. Especially after Washington I guess."

I nodded slowly "Yeah." I muttered and he shifted beside me

"So you've got any…company here? Parents?"

I shook my head

"Any boyfriend or husband?"

I let out a laugh "I don't get those." I said "It's just me."

And shiny new weapons.

"You know what?" I told him "We need alcohol with these cupcakes. You know where we can get it?"

He raised his brows, then grinned

"Merlotte's."

"Terrific. Let me just grab my keys."

* * *

Okay, one thing about Southern hospitality?

It kinda sucks after a point.

For example, when you go to a group of middle aged women for information about town's approach on vampires and vampires' approach to humans, you somehow find yourself in the middle of a completely irrelevant conversation.

"So you're here by yourself?"

"Yes ma'am. What do you think of the policy of-"

"Your parents must be very upset that you have left."

"No, they're fine. I was saying-"

"Are you seeing anyone?"

"Not really, um, has there been any attacks-"

"Oh you will love our boys here!"

_God, if you could send a sniper to kill me right now… Or a lightning could work too, if you want to keep things natural…_

"I can introduce you to my son, he is a real sweetheart-" I glanced at Jason who was talking with someone, begging for help. He grinned and approached me

"Excuse us-" he said and grabbed me by the arm, then steered me towards the table.

"Phew. You guys weren't kidding about the hospitality."

"We take it serious here." He joked as I took a spot "And we don't get many newcomers…"

"I can see that." I laughed "So, what's your story?"

Jason sipped his beer and shrugged

"Born here, grew up here." He said "Yours?"

"Complicated." I shrugged this time and he huhed

"Is that because you moved in here?"

"Why do you think I moved here?"

"I guess it's got to do something with a dude."

I let out a laugh "Right… Because everything begins and ends with relationships."

"For chicks, yeah."

I shook my head slightly "I don't believe in love." I stated "I believe in… survival. Which is kind of the same thing for some people."

"Cheers to that." He clinked his beer bottle with mine and I sipped my drink, then blanked out.

_A puddle of blood. Screams. The burning, agonizing pain…_

_The sound of the stake penetrating the flesh and sticky blood on my face-_

I turned my head as someone dropped a glass

"Sookie?" Jason said

She just stared at me, shocked and turned to the guy approached her.

"I tripped, my fault." She said "I'm sorry."

"That's Sookie?" I asked and he nodded. I waved at her

"Thanks so much for the cupcakes!" I said, smiling and she smiled back, then turned around to go to the kitchen.

"Huh."

"Weird…"

* * *

After couple of hours and countless beers, I decided to go home and Jason came with me.

"I told you I wouldn't sleep with you so you didn't need to come all this way with me." I stated as soon as I got to the porch, with him behind me.

"Really? After so many beers?"

I let out a laugh "It's not about you, really, it's um… complicated chick stuff." I said "Thanks for the cupcakes, Jason." I kissed him on the cheek, and turned around to enter the house. After closing the door and locking it behind me, I stretched my body, letting out a groan

So far, nothing…

No info, no anything.

_My boss is gonna kill me._

I pulled my hair into a ponytail, and started stripping my weapons. I pulled a silver brass knuckles from the waist of my jeans along with my gun. After putting them onto the table, I pulled the stakes from my boots, then flung myself onto the couch.

Then, someone knocked on the door rather hard.

"What the…" I grabbed my gun, walked to the door, and half opened it.

"Sookie?"

"Lady, if you think you can come here to hunt vampires you've got another thing coming!" she said angrily and I raised my brows, still hiding the gun behind me

"What?"

"You can't just think every vampire is bad just because something happened to you-" before she could finish her sentence, I had already pointed the gun at her

"How do you know about that?" I asked and she gawked at the gun, then me

"Never mind how I know it! We- the town's people do not have any complaints to-"

"Sookie." I cut her off "How do you know about that? You have exactly three seconds, or I'm gonna start shooting."

She clenched her jaw

"I-" she heaved a sigh "I saw it in your mind, at Merlotte's."

"You saw it in my mind." I repeated and she nodded

"And I'm supposed to believe that."

"I don't care what you believe or not. Now you listen to me, if you stake any harmless vampire just because they're vampires-"

"How did you see it in my mind?"

"I have a talent." She said and I eyed her up and down, then threw my head back and let out a groan

"Seriously?!" I burst out "You're a telepath?! I came across a telepath on my first day?! Really?!"

"You know about telepaths?" she asked, suddenly distracted and I heaved a sigh, then opened the door wider

"If you're gonna keep yelling…" I trailed off and walked into the house, and she followed me inside, then paused when she saw me putting the gun onto table, along with the weapons

"Just as I thought- if you think you can kill vampires just because-"

"Sookie!" I cut her off "I can't just go and kill vampires like that, okay? My bosses would kill me, not to mention-"

My clan.

"Your clan?"

"Stop reading my mind!" I said, running a hand over my face and she frowned

"Wait you're on of those hunters aren't you?" she asked "Raised by clans, hired by government."

"Bingo. Bureoucracy would give me hell if I just went off and killed vampires like that." I said "I'm just here for the usual checkings and observe. I'm not planning to kill anyone, just..to make sure it's under control, okay?" I paused "And I need to keep my cover, so if you tell anyone…"

"I won't tell anyone as long as you don't hurt anyone."

I shrugged "Sounds good to me. I still have your cupcakes, want some?"

She thought for a second "Will you tell me what I need to know or will I get it from your mind?"

I heaved a sigh and walked to the kitchen "I'm making coffee." I said "It's gonna be a long night."

* * *

_**A.N2: **_So, what do you think? Please tell me your opinions, comments, parts you liked, parts you didn't like, constructive criticism, ideas anything! =) I need to hear them!;)


	2. Hot Blooded

**A.N: Omg you're awesome, people! Thank you soo much for your great reviews! I hope you'll like this chapter too, and please review! :)**

**__********______****Disclaimer: ****I don't own anything, True Blood belongs to the HBO and Charlaine Harris, and any resemblance ****______********between my OC's and real persons, dead or undead is purely coincidental.****______******** I also don't own the title of the story and the chapter.**

**__********______************______********Spoilers: Starts from season 2 **

* * *

"So, um… After the last case, my superiors thought I could… do with some peace, so they have decided to pick here for me when they were appointing the hunters to the places, you must've heard about it in news." I said as I swirled the dark liquid in my cup around and around before taking a sip

Sookie nodded "They said that government appointed the hunters to different parts of the country so that they could…make sure everything is under control with humans and vampires."

"Press sometimes gets it right," I stated "Very rare sometimes, but still."

"I thought hunters….well, hunted vampires just for killing."

"We used to," I nodded slowly "Well… Not us, other clans used to. See, every clan has different traditions and also different approach on supernatural. Mine is more… fatalistic, I think. As in, everyone has a purpose in the balance of the nature, dead, undead, humans… Everything. And when you kill someone without a reason-"

"It breaks the balance."

"Definitely," I toasted "Of course, there are some other clans who thinks different. I saw it when I was first hired for the government. For example, there was this girl from um… I can't remember the name, it was a small clan by the ocean side, she was under the impression vampires' mere existence broke the balance of the nature. She rose rather quick in hierarchy." I shook my head slightly "Anyway, clans' job was easier, hunting was easier before vampires came out. But now that they did, and they have rights, and we have been hired by the government, the minute a hunter kills a vampire without showing the proof that they were hurting someone, government picks up the cost. And believe me, they make sure to…"

"Fuck you up?" she said helpfully and I let out a laugh

"Something like that. So like I said, I can't just kill vampires like that."

"But you know how?"

"Well, stake, wooden bullet, dep-"

"No I mean… You have been trained for this, right?" she asked "I heard about the clans."

I paused "Well… Yes, I have been trained for this for my whole life. And I know how. I know when to attack, when to cover, when to… do anything to protect myself, and the others. My clan granted me specific…" I thought for a second "Specific talents, knowledge, and training, and government improved them."

She looked deep in thought and I leaned back

"I'm not a telepath, so you gotta tell me what's on your mind."

She smiled "Are those rumors true?"

"About clans?"

She nodded "I heard some stuff." She said and I hmmed

"Such as?"

Seriously, that happened everytime someone found out I was from a clan. When we had first come out –more like government forced us to, along with vampires- the press practically jumped on every story and gossip they could get their hands on. So people heard some really absurd stuff and believed in it.

Hence prejudices.

"The locations are in secret,"

I nodded

"And also both the clan and the people of it are protected by … spells that your witches perform,"

"Kind of, yes."

"Is there really witches?"

I nodded "Not in the classic sense, but… I think you can call them that, yes." I said "Attacking a clan is probably the biggest mistake a vampire could do, but… they have attempted to, in past. Not only the warriors but also witches protect the clan."

"And you perform special rituals,"

"Yep. Now onto the probably false rumors you really wonder." I waved a hand in the air, "Seriously, I heard everything you could imagine."

She paused "Do you really marry your siblings to keep the clan pure?"

"Aha, first one," I said "Nope. Not at all. We think it's actually disgusting, and if I ever find out who came up with this rumor I'm gonna stake them right in the crotch."

"Sex and blood in the rituals…?"

"Blood yes, sex no."

"Do you exclude children who are not fit to be hunters from your clan and leave them in nature to die?"

"Absolutely not," I shook my head "We have lots of healers, witches, warriors, mentors, guardians… Or if you don't want to become any of these, it's fine too. Some people chose not to get involved in this stuff, and we understand that. But, there is a lot of…respect for people who becomes hunters, that's true."

"Oh." She said and I let out a laugh

"Don't feel bad or anything, Connor asked me much worse when we first met."

"Connor?"

I nodded at one of the picture frames that held our picture and she raised her brows

"Your boyfriend?"

"What? Oh no, he's- he's like a brother to me."

Her eyes found the picture, then turned back to me "It's just that, I thought-"

"No I- I don't have a..." I shook my head "I had, once. And then…" I trailed off "Then he turned out to be a complete opposite of who I thought he was, so…" I shot her a curt smile

"I'm sorry,"

I shrugged "Anyways, tomorrow-" I tried to change the subject and checked my watch "Well, more like tonight, I gotta go and visit this place- Ugh, I keep forgetting the name!" I searched for the little piece of paper in my pocket "Fangtasia, seriously what a crappy-"

"Fangtasia?!" she repeated, suddenly alarmed "Oh no no no… Valeria, you don't want to go there."

"My boss wants me to go there," I stated "Why? You know where it is?"

She nodded "Unfortunately."

"That bad?"

"Eric owns that place,"

"Eric…?"

"Eric Northman."

"Oh the sheriff of Area 5," I suddenly remembered "Right. I heard."

"Also a vicious, cruel, arrogant vampire, who does not care anything else but himself."

"Sounds like such a fun person," I muttered "Great. Well, it's not like I got a choice, there has been some complaints about his bar, not to mention, that's probably the only place around here that I can observe that big group of vampires. Also, he's the sheriff, and I gotta-"

"Valeria, Eric does not like people meddling into his own business. He'd kill you in a heartbeat!"

"And what, start a civil war?" I asked "A sheriff can't kill an official hunter like that, everything, all those improvements would go down-"

"Eric does not care about that,"

I shrugged "A businessman cares about politics. Besides, my boss is not the type of person that takes no for an answer, let alone an excuse such as death,"

Sookie heaved a sigh "He won't like it. I'm telling you, he won't like it at all,"

"I don't like it either but no one gives a shit." I threw my hands in the air "So…"

"Okay, um… Maybe I should come with you," She said "You know? To- keep an eye on you."

I smiled "Thank you so much, you're very kind, but… I'll be fine, I know how to protect myself. Also I gotta blend in, you know? Keep a low profile… I can't do it if you know the owner."

"Okay, maybe Bill can come with you,"

"Bill?"

"My boyfriend. He's a vampire, so he… Can show you around, in that bar, that is."

"Does he know Eric?"

"Yes,"

"Then no," I said, smiling apologetically "Really. Don't worry. I'll just… observe and leave there. No one will even notice me."

I didn't know it back then, but fate must've laughed out loud and flipped me when I said those words.

* * *

"Lets see…" I muttered to myself as I went downstairs to the basement with a glass of ice tea and packet of chips. After placing them onto table, I opened my laptop, logged into the system with my password and then thought for a second

"Fangtasia…" I typed in the word, sipping my ice tea. Of course, every info we had was reflected to the big screen in front of me

"Dude…" I shook my head slightly as I saw the photos. "What's with the vampires and the leather?"

So, it looked like it was a very popular night club, judging by the crowd in the photos.

"444 Industrial drive, Shreveport LA." I scribbled it down onto a paper and then snorted when I saw the motto of the club "_**Life begins at night."**_

"And ends…" I muttered "Okay then. Eric Northman…" I typed in the word, and in a second, some photos along with his personal record in vampire authorities was on my screen. I raised my brows, skimming the lines

"Undead. Sheriff of Area 5 Louisiana." I read out loud "Owner of Fangtasia, other estates are in the following… bla bla bla…" I clicked my tongue, then chewed a chip, still reading.

"Viking origins…How lovely. Sweden, Anglo Saxon period, 930 A.D to-" I stopped, my eyes widening as I re-read

"930 A.D?!" I squealed, nearly choking on the ice tea I had just sipped "Fuck this shit!"

_They sent me to an area whose sheriff is over 1000 years old?!_

I let out a groan, throwing my head back and grabbed a cigarette from my pocket, then lit it.

"Okay then." I huffed out the smoke and sat onto the table Indian style "Focus. What else…"

I clicked on an image in order to recognize him when I saw him later on that night, and tilted my head to the right.

I had to admit, for an undead, he looked very… Phew.

I shook my head, trying to shake off the thoughts and frowned at myself. The break up that I loathed to even think about must've affected me worse that I had thought. I could feel my jaw clench as his face flashed before my eyes and I logged out of the system. I clicked on a file, then my eyes met the image reflected on the screen.

You know what's really weird? You think you love someone and then they fuck you over and you wonder how on earth you ever thought you loved them in the first place.

_Fuck hormones. Not like I give a shit._

_Really._

…Okay, here's what happened.

Me and the douche bag currently smiling at me from the screen in my kinky torture dungeon slash panic room met when I was first brought to Washington from the clan. He was one of those guys that government had hired among his own agents, in case the clan thing went down, and had just began his training and I was the new girl. The beginning of every cheesy romance movie, minus vampire killing training.

He had also taken me to one of the said cheesy romantic movies for the first time.

Douche bag.

Anyways, we met, and trained together and were assigned to some cases together, along with Connor and his girlfriend back then. Think of double dates, and add vampires and bosses into the picture. Then, somewhere along the road, Aiden the douche bag started flirting with me.

Which says a lot if even I could notice it, considering how bad I am at this stuff. With a little nudge from Connor, of course.

And then, somehow, with a very awkward first kiss, we started dating.

Then he fucked me over. In a traumatic, horrible way that makes the cheating look like freaking honeymoon phase.

I was pulled away from my thoughts as a noise reached my ears from my laptop. I jumped from the table and clicked on the upcoming call

"Miss Warren,"

"Sir," I greeted him, standing in front of the table in a way they couldn't see the packet of chips and iced tea "Ma'am," I also greeted the woman sitting beside him

"Have you come across anything unusual?"

No small talk of course.

"No sir, I went to one of the bars that people gather to socialize last night, but so far, the public doesn't seem to show any displeasure towards vampires." I said "I will check the vampire night club Fangtasia tonight to learn about vampires' approach on humans."

"Good," He said "And Miss Warren?"

"Yes ma'am?"

"Do try to… blend in," she said, eyeing me up and down, then the screen went black. I looked down at myself and cussed under my breath.

I had just attended a briefing with shorts and a tank top with bunnies on it.

"Shit."

* * *

"Try not to look his way,"

"I know," I said, my eyes on the road, the phone pressed to my ear.

"And if a blonde bombshell vampire woman approaches you, don't push her buttons or start something. She's Eric's progeny and almost as bad as him."

"I got it,"

"I gotta go, Sam's calling for me," She said "You'll be okay?"

"I'll be fine, Sookie, I've done this a thousand times," I said, smiling "Tell Jason I say hi!" I hung up. After seeing the flashy sign, I pulled over, stepped out of the car and lit a cigarette.

Hunting, I get it.

Clubbing? Not really.

Perhaps it was because we didn't have any night clubs in the clan but I really didn't understand the concept of grinding to people and drinking cheap drinks in a closed space, nor how people found it attractive.

I also didn't have a freaking clue why there were so many fang bangers, I mean, I did understand people wanted sex, but what difference did vampires-

I snapped out of my thoughts when one of the fang bangers stumbled, doubled up and puked not so far from me, then wiped her mouth and kept walking. I threw the cigarette butt to the ground, then stepped on it.

"Calm down..." I muttered to myself and approached the woman in leather. She looked like she just walked out of a BDSM party and she eyed me up and down

"I.D?"

I took my I.D out of my purse and handed it to her.

"Valeria Warren," She read out loud, narrowing her eyes. I shifted my weight, praying she wouldn't suspect of anything

"You're good to pass," She said and I took my I.D

"Thank you," I said politely and walked inside.

The smell of sweat and mixed perfumes reached me and I wrinkled up my nose, then walked to the bar and perched on one of the bar stalls.

"A martini please," I said as I searched through the crowd. I took a sip from my drink and felt someone sit beside me

"Hey,"

"Hi," I said, without pulling my glances off the dancers.

"What's your name?"

"I'm not interested in men in leather,"

He chuckled "That's a long name,"

"Well, family never think in long run do they?" I said and heaved a sigh "You have exactly three seconds to get your hand off my leg."

"Oh come on, beautiful…"

"Two, one- Time's up." I put my glass on the counter, then twisted his hand and slammed his head against the counter "Back. Off."

He hissed and stumbled back when I let him go, and hissed at me, his fangs popping up. The bartender shot him a look as soon as I reached for the silver in my purse.

"Hey." He said, then nodded at something. The vampire turned to look, then gulped and stormed out of the bar. I raised my brows, feeling confused.

"Huh." I said, putting my purse back onto counter "Um-Thanks, I guess? Hey, do you-"

He returned his glances to me "My boss is summoning you."

"What?" I looked over my shoulder, and cussed under my breath. Sure enough, the vampire in a –_was that a fucking throne!?_- darker corner of the club signaled me to approach him. I felt my heartbeat getting faster and hissed in a breath.

_So much for undercover_.

Vampire bar, vampire rules.

I grabbed my purse and approached to the throne, making my way through the dancing couples and fangbangers.

"What's an official hunter doing in Fangtasia?" his voice was deep, and he had an air of confidence and superiority surrounding him.

I pulled my brows together and looked at him, very picture of puzzlement

"O- official hunter?" I repeated, playing dumb "I don't know what you mean."

He raised his brows, as if my attempt to lie amused him, then nodded at my necklace

"I can smell the spells radiating from you in your blood, hunter."

_Shit._

My expression went from confused to daring

"Right." I said, dropping the act "Hello Mr Northman."

"Hello Miss…?" he trailed off "I'm guessing your name is shorter than what you said there."

I felt myself blush "Valeria Warren."

"What's a hunter doing in Fangtasia, Valeria Warren?"

"Usual checkings, nothing to worry about." I waved a hand in the air "Shall we?"

He didn't move a bit in the throne he was slouching on "I could've mistaken you with a civilian human. You're smaller than one would expect from a hunter."

"I'm not small!" I said, defensive for some reason and he stood up.

_Okay._

_I stand corrected._

_I really should've paid more attention to physical appearance part in his file_.

He towered over me and I had to raise my head to look up at him,

"Shall we?" I asked once again, playing cool and he smirked, then steered me to his office.

"Valeria Warren…" he repeated to himself as he closed the door "Which clan is this?"

I just smiled calmly "Forgive me for not being so eager to share it with a vampire, Mr Northman." I said "Especially one as strong as yourself."

A corner of his lips curled upwards "Strong?"

"Old." I said as he took a seat and signaled me to sit down as well. "I did my homework. Your name has quite a…reputation."

"Had I known you were coming, I would've found out what your name means to people too, Miss Warren."

"It would not be as impressive as yours, I'm afraid."

He just smirked at me, eyeing me up and down and I tried not to hug myself, suddenly feeling naked under his gaze. The absurdity of a 25 year old hunter's questioning him, a vampire over 1000 years old didn't seem to be lost on him either, but he did not comment on it.

"Um.." I tried to wrap my mind around the subject "Mr Northman, in the last month, we have received 25 complaints of feeding off unwilling people in your bar."

He arched his brows "And what do you base your definition of unwilling?"

"Pretty basic, Mr Northman, we base it on saying no." I said sweetly "I'm gonna need your surveillance camera records."

"And if I refuse?"

"I wouldn't advise that." I stated "We both have higher people than us in hierarchy, Mr Northman, lets not make it harder for both of us."

In a flash, he was in front of me and locked his eyes to mine. A gasp of surprise escaped from my lips, but when I overcame my momentary scare, I arched a brow and crossed my arms, trying to calm my heartbeat down

"Surely you didn't think it would work?"

He gave me a one sided grin "Worth a shot." He said, still caging me in, his hands on the arms of my chair. I looked up at him, then turned my head when the door opened

"Oh, you're busy." The blonde vampire I had seen at the entrance drawled out when she walked into the office "Shouldn't you be using basem-"

"Pam." He cut her off and straightened up, walking to the back of his desk to sit down. "This is Valeria Warren, an official hunter. Miss Warren, Pamela, my business partner and progeny."

"It's nice to meet you." I said as I offered my hand. Pamela eyed my outstretched hand, arching a perfect brow and Eric cleared his throat, then she shook hands with me.

"You too." She said without a trace of politeness in her voice.

_What the fuck with the vampires in this club, seriously_.

"Mr Northman?" I turned to him "Records? When can I get them?"

Pamela turned from me to him, with a look in her eyes, but he focused his gaze on me

"Tomorrow night." He said, with a tone that signaled the end of the conversation. I tried not to roll my eyes.

"Okay, I'll get the papers ready by then." I said "Thank you for your cooperation."

_Sookie was right about the arrogant part._

I turned around and left the room, then let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. Making my way through the crowd, I reached the exit, then walked to my car, lighting a cigarette.

Fighting people is so much easier than talking with them, mortal or immortal.

I inhaled the smoke, closing my eyes, letting myself relax.

Which is probably one of the biggest mistakes a hunter can make.

Before I knew it, someone had spun me around and pinned me to my car by the neck. My cigarette fell and I looked up at see the same vampire from the bar.

"Hello there."

"You again?" I said, grabbing my silver brass knuckles from my purse and swinging a hard punch at his face. He let out a yell as his flesh burnt, some part of it sticking to the brass knuckles. I took my gun and fired two shots at his knees.

Silver bullets, bitch.

He fell to the ground and I knelt down, pulling my badge out.

"The next time I see you…" I said, yanking his head and showing him the badge "There won't be any warning shots. Understand? I'd have your head on a stake."

He only growled and I pressed the gun to under his chin, cocking it

"Understand?"

He glared at me, then nodded

"Nice." I said, and grabbed my cigarette from the ground.

_Five seconds rule_.

I huffed to it, then took it to my lips. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a figure and turned my head to see Pamela, watching me with a brow raised.

I glanced back at her, exhaling the smoke, then got into my car and drove away.

* * *

**A.N:So, what do you think? Please tell me your opinions!**

**Review Responses for Not Logged In:D :**

**Guest: **Yayy thank you so much! I'm so glad to hear that you liked it! And here's Eric! ;)

**Iland Girl**: Check your inbox;)


	3. King Of The Rodeo

**A.N: Here's the new chapter! I hope you all will like it! :)**

******__********______****Disclaimer: ****I don't own anything, True Blood belongs to the HBO and Charlaine Harris, and any resemblance ****______********between my OC's and real persons, dead or undead is purely coincidental.****______******** I also don't own the title of the story and the chapter.**

**__********______************______********Spoilers: Starts from season 2**

**Thanks so much to treewitch703 for betaing:)**

* * *

I frowned without opening my eyes as my alarm went off and fumbled for the stake I kept under my pillow

_Considering how much I hate mornings, I should've been a vampire…_

When I finally found it, I threw it in the alarm clock's direction and heard it hit, the sudden end to the noise was a blessing. I smiled to myself and pulled the covers back over my head.

Five more minutes…

Oh. Crap. The exercises.

I heaved a sigh and pushed the covers off of me, rubbing my eyes. One luxurious stretch before I headed to the bathroom.

_I really do look like shit in the mornings_. I thought to myself as I washed my face and dabbed at it with a towel, before I looked in the mirror. My light brown hair was disheveled and I tried to untangle it by pushing my fingers through it . When I realized I was making it worse, I pulled it up into a ponytail and yawned, deciding once again I was not a morning person at all.

Can't we just all wake up like princesses?

I walked to the kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee, and turned on the TV, while waiting for it to finish.

There was nothing unusual.

Ugh, this was becoming a motif.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" I said to myself suddenly, when something flashed in my mind and grabbed my phone, finding the contact.

"Valeria!" the cheerful voice of the director's assistant reached my ear "How are you?"

"I'm fine, Stacy, you?"

"As usual." She said "How's Louisiana?"

"Nothing too weird." I said, filling my cup "Stacy-"

"Are there any boys showing you Southern hospitality yet?" she giggled and I raised my brows

"Um, not really no." I said "I could live without Southern hospitality."

"Oh come on Val, country boys are hot!"

"You should come to visit me here sometime then." I said "Listen, Stacy, can you get the director sign the permission papers and send it to me? I need Fangtasia's surveillance camera records."

"Fangtasia?"

"A vampire night club in Shreveport." I said, sipping my coffee "Owned by Eric Northman, the sheriff of Area 5."

"Okay! Director is in a meeting right now, but should be finished anytime, you'll get them in half an hour."

"Thanks, you're the best." I said "Talk to you later."

"Bye!"

I hung up and took another sip of my coffee, then set it on the counter, went upstairs to change. After going back downstairs, I left the house, put my headphones on, and started running.

If there was one thing I could say about Bon Temps was the scenery. It was like a jungle, it was as green as my home back in clan but hotter and wetter. I remembered the time when I had first ventured into the forest with only a crossbow in my hands, the feeling of being so alive…

"Valeria!" I heard a voice calling me over the music pounding in my ears and stopped, pulling off my headphones. I turned around to see the owner of the voice waving at me.

"Jason?" I panted and approached "Hey."

"Hi." He smiled at me "What's up?"

"Exercising." I said "You?"

"Just working- this is Hoyt." He introduced the tall guy standing next to him to me "My buddy, and Valeria's, the newcomer."

"Very nice to meet you." I shook hands with him as he shot me a warm smile and I returned it

"Jason…" I said "Are there any decent running trails around here? Like through the woods or something?"

"Yeah why?"

"Just trying to figure out the town." I smiled and cocked my head "Um, where?"

He told me that a hunting trail, marked with a bit of red reflective metal, was right down the road, I bit the inside of my bottom lip, trying to memorize where the wet spots were.

"Then you turn to your left, walk for five minutes and you'll see."

"Alrighty." I nodded "Thanks so much. I'd better keep running. See you later!"

"Valeria, wait!"

I turned to look at him, jogging in place "Yeah?"

"Coming to Merlotte's tonight?"

I opened my mouth to say yes, then remembered the Fangtasia and shook my head

"No," I said "I-I can't, I have this thing…to do. You know? Complicated chick stuff."

"Chick stuff." He repeated, smirking slightly "Right."

"Sorry." I said, smiling apologetically "But later, promise!" I started running again in the direction he had just described. What else was better than a trail for serious jogging?

After 5 minutes, I reached the marker and started down the trail carefully. According to Jason the trail was only used in hunting season so I was in the clear, I started doing my stretches, but could hardly focus with the tall trees surrounding me.

It was both so much like home and so different.

I found myself smiling as I approached an oak that stood in a clearing by itself. I was able to pull myself up almost too easily. Back at the clan, we used to make it a race, as to who could climb a tree faster and there was this one time I had fallen and broken my arm while trying to beat one of the guys.

I got to the higher branches and stopped, leaned my back against the tree trunk and pulled my legs up so that I could rest them there.

It felt…familiar somehow. I mean, when you spend your whole childhood in nature, you could never repress the longing to return.

I had missed home.

God I had missed home…

I knew I had exercises to do, and I couldn't skip the training even for one day, but still, that didn't stop me. I just smiled, my eyes on the rustling leaves, feeling the warm sunlight on my skin and dragged my fingertips over the surface of the tree

"Five more minutes…" I muttered to myself, imagining myself home. Wilderness. Nature. Freedom.

"Five more minutes."

* * *

I went over the papers one more time before leaving the car. I had no idea why I was nervous, but I was on edge and my heart was racing in my chest. I lit a cigarette and walked towards Pamela who was waiting by the entrance.

You know, I'd always been kind of jealous of women who could look…that feminine with their body type. Big rack, small waist, wider hips. The women who could make a man tongue-tied with a mere glance. The women who could easily turn on their sex appeal.

And then there's me.

"You again?"

"Feeling is mutual," I said "Is Mr Northman here?"

"He's busy."

"I just need to take the records, then I'll be out of your hair, Pamela."

"For some reason I'm having hard time believing it." She said and I heaved a sigh

"Records." I said and she rolled her eyes, then nodded at me to get inside. I followed her inside the club, it didn't look any different than it had last night, fangbangers everywhere, the smell, the music, the throne..

Without Mr Northman.

I raised my brows and looked around, then rushed after Pamela. She stopped me in front of a door

"Wait here." She said, and opened the door and went downstairs. I leaned against the wall and crossed my arms, huffing.

I did not want to be here.

"He'll be out soon." Pamela said as she walked out and closed the door behind her. I nodded and checked my watch, clicked my tongue, then rested my head on the wall

_Great. Very, very busy vampire._

_Just what I need_.

Five minutes later, I was still waiting and growing more impatient by the minute. How long could it take to hand me the fucking records for God's sake!?

_Some of us don't have eternity, hello!? I'm dying of old age here! _

I bit my lip and bent closer to the door, trying to understand whether he was there or not. I frowned as a scream reached my ears and automatically, my hand pulled the stake from the back of my shorts. The adrenalin roared through my system as I opened the door and ran inside, I just knew something was off with the-

Holy fuck.

I gasped as soon as I took in the view in front of me and immediately closed my eyes, turning away.

The good news? No one was being killed.

Bad news was that, I had just walked in on an over 1000 year old vampire having kinky sex.

With chains and bound girl and everything.

_I hate my job_.

"Miss Warren." Mr Northman's voice was calm and smooth, as if I had just walked into his office rather than his….his… sex dungeon.

"I'm sorry, I heard someone scream-" I gulped, still gripping onto the stake in my hand. He walked into my sight and I had to force myself not to gawk at his lithe sculpted body.

_Don't look down, don't look down…_

I could feel my heart sped up and I tried to look elsewhere. The same thing had happened when I had first found Aiden's porn in his laptop, seriously-

"Would you please wait in my office?"

I had no idea why I agreed, but I merely nodded and ran upstairs, somehow eager to get the hell away. I thought I heard his chuckle, but I didn't turn around, just closed the door behind me and walked to his office. I opened the door, flung myself onto one of the leather seats and lit another cigarette.

_What the fuck, ladies and gentlemen?_

Seriously? This guy was living up to probably every vampire cliché.

Sex dungeon?

A freaking sex dungeon?!

And I thought my basement was kinky.

My head snapped up as soon as I heard the door open and he walked inside, wearing a black shirt and pants. I still couldn't look him in the eye so I just focused on my cigarette.

"My apologies for the…inconvenience." I said "I'm just- I was just- when I heard someone scream.."

"You automatically assumed that I was killing someone." He stated as he slouched on his chair, making it look like his throne in the club. I stole a quick glance at him, but he held my gaze, brown meeting blue.

I cleared my throat,

"Instincts." I said "Anyway, the records, Mr Northman?" I passed the file I was still holding over my stomach to him over his desk. "Permission papers, in case you want to take a look."

He opened the file and skimmed the lines

"Looks convincing." He muttered "Pam."

As if on cue, his door opened and Pam walked inside with a bag in her hands. She put it on the table in front of me, then walked out without saying a word.

"Thank you." I said, pulling it towards me "You can send someone to bring it back tomorrow night, I'm sure I'll be done by then."

"Excellent."

"Have a good night, Mr Northman." I stood up, walked to the door, then turned around

"And Mr Northman?"

"Yes, Miss Warren?" he said, his icy glare focused on me.

I tossed the cigarette packet to him, which he caught in the mid air without even looking at it

"They say it's the best feeling in the world after..." I trailed off and nodded at the package, then walked out of his office. I approached the exit only to see Pam, inspecting her fingernails.

"So you'll be out of my hair then?"

"Believe me, I plan to." I walked past her

"Hunter."

I turned around "Yes, vampire?"

"I liked your outfit better last night."

I looked down at myself, a white wife beater, jean shorts and converse, hardly the Fangtasia material. But hey, tonight I didn't have to worry about blending in or not blowing my cover, so fuck that.

"I liked you better when you didn't talk last night."

_Yep, I'm horrible at come backs, so sue me_.

_I hate each and every vampire in Fangtasia, screw the balance of nature_.

I got inside my car and drove off, desperate the keep the thoughts at bay.

* * *

When I got to Bon Temps, it was very late, so instead of dropping by the Merlotte's, I drove straight to my house. I pulled over and searched through my glove box to find if I had any extra packets.

_That's what I got for trying to make a witty exit_.

"Gotcha!" I cheered when I could find the packet and put it into my bag, then pushed open the door and got out of the car. Just as I was walking to my porch, I heard footsteps behind me and spun around, ready to attack

"Hey." Sookie said, smiling at me and I let out a breath

"Hey. I thought you were a vampire."

"Nope." She said "Just wanted to make sure you were okay. Coming from Shreveport?"

"Yep." I sat down onto a chair on the porch and she followed suit.

"How was Eric?"

"Everything you described and more." I lit a cigarette and huffed out the smoke

"What did he do?"

"Besides traumatizing my brain? Not much." I offered her a smoke but she shook her head

"How so?"

"He has a fucking sex dungeon."

"And you know this because…?"

"I happened to witness his recent activities in said place." I muttered and she let out a laugh

"Valeria!"

"Hey, it's not like I asked for it!" I insisted "If he is that kinky, he should've found a way to… keep his partners from screaming. People might think he's killing someone!"

"Right, because screaming always equals that."

"I'm a hunter, Sookie. When someone screams, I think of murder, not sex."

"Well you've got a point…" she muttered "What else?"

"What else- I'll spend the whole of tomorrow inside, so that I can watch the numerous people grinding into each other and probably doing much worse for the record, so that my superiors will be happy." When she shot me a look, I shrugged "I got the camera records, to see any are feeding off unwilling people."

"Fun."

"You have no idea." I stubbed the cigarette as she stood up "Leaving already?"

"Yeah, I've got a shift tomorrow." She said "Just wanted to see if you were okay."

"You're the poster girl for Southern hospitality, have I ever told you that?" I asked "Thanks. Really."

"No problem." She smiled at me "Good night."

"Good night." I said and watched her walk back to her car, then rubbed my eyes and entered the house. I dragged my weary self upstairs, walked into my bedroom and flung myself onto bed face down, without even bothering to change or take off my shoes.

"I love my life, I love my life I love my…" I muttered to myself, hugging the pillow to myself, closed my eyes, and almost immediately dozed off.

* * *

_**A.N2: **_So, what do you think? Please tell me your opinions, comments, parts you liked, parts you didn't like, constructive criticism, ideas anything! =) I need to hear them!;)


	4. House Of Cards

**A.N: T****hank you soo much for the reviews! **Here's the new chapter, I hope you all will like it! :) And please don't forget to review! :) 

******__********______****Disclaimer: ****True Blood belongs to the HBO and Charlaine Harris, and any resemblance ****______********between my OC's and real persons, dead or undead is purely coincidental. In this fanfiction, I only own the plot points where it is different than the show and books,****______******** I also don't own the title of the story and the chapter.**

**_Spoilers: Starts from season 2_**

**Thanks so much to treewitch703 for betaing:)**

* * *

After hours of watching the video feed, I was two seconds away from taking my gun and putting a bullet through the screen.

Or I could attack it with a flamethrower. That might be more amusing, I wasn't sure yet.

Not only was I stuck in the house, having to watch these stupid things while some vampires were getting their beauty sleep, but now I had to figure out where the records had been changed. Some parts were deleted, some were altered, how could I recover the missing bits?

_I woke up at 6 a.m for this?_

_I officially hate Eric Northman._

I stood up from the couch, straightened my back with a grunt and yawned. Walking to the window, I rubbed my eyes and looked outside. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and it was the perfect weather to go outside and relax.

Or to be distracted, from my case.

Either way….

I walked upstairs, changed my clothes and went back downstairs again. Before I could slip my phone into my pocket, it started buzzing.

"Hey Stacy." I greeted her "What's up?"

"Nothing much sweetie pie, just here in the office. You?"

"Going outside. What happened?"

"The director is asking if you got the records." She said and I sucked in a breath, closing my eyes

"Yeah, I got them." I said slowly, opened my eyes and walked out of the house, squinting into the sunlight, and locked it behind me.

"And…?"

"And…" I trailed off "I'm still working on them."

_Because the douche-bag gave me altered records_.

"So far?"

"So far nothing. Just fangbangers and vampires having sex and dancing and such." I said, getting inside of my car and starting it. "But I'm only at the beginning of it, so…"

"Alright…" Stacy said "He wanted me to tell you to inform him about anything."

"I always do." I said "Gotta go, bye!"

"Bye!"

I hung up and dialed Connor's number

"Hey Val."

"Hey Connor." I said "What's up?"

"Working. You?"

"Same here." I said "Listen, I'm gonna ask you something. Can you… if a video is changed, or some parts are deleted or something, can you retrieve the earlier data?"

I could practically see him frowning now, and chewing on his pencil if he had one "Depends…" he muttered "Why?"

"I've got something, so…" I trailed off "I tried to save it but failed, and you're better than me at computers…"

"And you want me to take a look." I could hear his smirk "I thought you could do anything, Ms bad ass hunter chick."

"If I had grown up with the same technology that you did, I could've." I retorted "Grew up in a clan remember? Technology is my weak point, and that's where you come in."

"I sometimes feel like you're using me."

"I am." I joked, letting out a laugh "Can you do it or not? It has sex in it and I'll be very-"

"You got me at sex part."

"I know which side my bread is buttered." I giggled "So?"

"Send them to me, I'll see what I can do." He said "What's it about again?"

I pulled over in front of Merlotte's and got out of the car

"Douche-bag vampires who own night clubs." I muttered "How're you holding up in Texas?"

"You know, there are lots of rumors floating around, so, I'm busy as hell. I don't even know where to start!"

"I'm sorry." I muttered, suddenly distracted at the sight of a car that just parked there, behind mine "Is there anything I can help with?"

"Not really, thanks though…" he said and I frowned slightly, then looked over my shoulder

"Huh…" I said "Connor?"

"Yeah?"

"Someone's following me."

"Val, we're in daylight."

"I know…" I said slowly "I-gotta go, I'll call you later?"

"Yeah, be careful."

"You too." I said and hung up. I walked towards the back yard of Merlotte's, still picking up on the footsteps behind me, then turned the corner, while grabbing my brass knuckles. As soon as my stalker turned the corner, I struck, punching him square in the face, then grabbed his collar and pinned him against the wall.

"Why are you following me?"

He tried to save himself from my grip, but then I cocked the gun, pressing it to his temple

"Why are you following me?" I repeated my question as a shadow of fear crossed his eyes. He couldn't be older than me.

"My boss is much scarier than you are." He said, even if I could sense the panic in his voice. I frowned, pulling back a little

"You either give me your boss' name, or I'll start shooting…" I lowered the gun, aiming at his crotch "Speak."

His eyes widened

"Whoa, whoa, Jesus! Aim it for something else!"

"Speak."

"Eric Northman sent me!"

I gawked at him when I heard the name, then clenched my jaw

"Why?"

"I-I don't know, he wanted me to keep an eye on you and inform him."

"Of what I do?" I asked and he nodded, still looking at the gun. I heaved a sigh, shaking my head slightly

"What's your name?"

"Jack." He said "Y-you're that hunter, right? Val whats-her-name Warren?"

I nodded "I suppose there's no way for me to get any information from you?" I asked "Hm?"

He shook his head "He'd kill me."

"And I could castrate you."

"Like I said, he's much scarier than anything you could do to me."

I snorted, "I'll take that as an insult." I said, then opened the barrel.

"What are you doing?"

I took out a wooden bullet, then put it into his palm, and spun the barrel.

"Tell your boss…" I said, putting the gun to the back of my jeans "That the next time he puts someone on my tail, he'll get the next bullet express."

He seemed like he couldn't understand

"Go." I said, and he ran to his car, I on the other hand walked around, then entered the bar.

"Valeria!"

"Hi Sookie." I said, perching onto one of the bar stools. "What's up?"

"Nothing much, working." She said "You?"

"Starving." I said "I need food and energy and sleep, and since I can't get sleep, I came to get other two."

"Nice."

"So, is the food good here?"

Sookie grinned "Have you met our cook? Lafayette?"

I shook my head and she called out "Lafayette!"

A head peeked out from behind the kitchen pass-through. It was black guy with a purple bandana and glimmering accessories. His lashes were quite long, and it looked like he was wearing glittery eye shadow if I wasn't mistaken.

"Yeah Sook?"

"It's Valeria, the new girl in town. Valeria, it's Lafayette, our cook."

"Nice to meet you." I waved, smiling and he eyed me up and down

"Nice to meet cha', chica."

"She asked if our food is good." Sookie said to him and he grinned

"We gots the best, baby doll." He said as I felt myself blush and let out a laugh "What do you want?"

"Something extremely greasy and unhealthy but yummy."

"Yo' in the right place." He pointed at me with his spatula and turned to keep tending whatever he was cooking.

"So when does your shift end?" I asked Sookie and she smiled

"Soon." She checked her watch, then looked out of the window "Bill will be here right about dark, so…"

"Nice." I winked at her "A date?"

She nodded, her smile getting wider.

"Romantic." I commented and she nodded again

"Yeah."

I tried my hardest not to think about the dates I used to have, but it was no use.

"_Come on Val!" Aiden said "You're gonna like it, I promise-"_

"_That thing is way too high." I shook my head fervently, looking at the spinning wheel in the middle of the fun fair. "No way, Aiden, really…"_

"_It'll be fun, all girls like Ferris wheels__"_

"_I don't trust technology at all- what if it breaks?"_

"_It won't break. And for the record, it's romantic, come on." He dragged me towards it, then we took our spots. When we reached the top, my eyes were still closed._

"_The view is great, open your eyes."_

"_Nope." I shook my head, and soon enough, felt his lips on mine _

"_Trust me." He whispered "Open your eyes." _

_I opened them and looked around_

"_I….think it looks good…"_

"Val- Valeria?" I heard Sookie's voice and snapped out of my thoughts

"Oh I'm sorry, it's-" I shook my head "That must've been pretty boring for you." I let out a nervous laugh "Anyway, um…"

"Was that your boyfriend? The one you mentioned earlier?"

I nodded

"You looked happy there, what happened?"

This time, I managed to stomp on the thoughts before they popped up.

"It's not important really." I said "Just… some people aren't build for relationships." I shrugged "I actually find it funny that how some people's theme song of their romantic life is _"I Will Always Love You"_ while mine is something like _"Smack My Bitch Up."_

She let out a laugh, then looked at me sympathetically

"I'm sorry."

"Not your fault." I said "Don't worry about it. So um…anyway! Is- is Jason around?"

"Working." She said, then narrowed her eyes "Why?"

I shrugged again "Just asked."

"Valeria, Jason is…" she tried to find the words "I mean, if you have…"

"If I have what?"

"Any- feelings, or-"

"What? No!" I exclaimed fervently "No no no, you- you totally got me wrong. There's- I mean, he looks like a great guy, but um… no way." I shook my head "I'm kinda planning to live a nun's life or… crazy cat lady life, so… No romance or- nothing at all."

"Oh?" she said "It's just that, he has a past with lots of girls here and I thought if you feel something you should know…"

"No worries." I smiled "Nothing like that."

"Do you feel that way because of him?" Sookie asked slowly "No romance because of Aiden?"

"Just a contributing factor." I said "People are… they fuck you up. So… "

"I used to think I could never be with someone because of " she looked around and dropped her voice "the telepath thing…" she said "Then Bill came along. You never know what may happen."

I opened my mouth to disagree, then someone called her to ask for something. I slumped in my seat, and waited for my food to come, desperately trying to focus on something else.

* * *

"I'm totally fucking up your date, you two are aware of it, right?" I asked to Bill and Sookie, who were sitting in front of me on the other side of the table. "I mean, it's very nice to meet you Bill, but-"

"It's fine." Sookie waved a hand in the air, she looked extremely worried since Bill had pulled her aside and talked with her. "There's something you should know, something… you should be careful of."

I shot her a quizzical look and Bill shifted a little in his seat.

"Eric is doing some research about you."

"Eric Northman?" I asked, puzzled "Wait, what research?"

"Apparently he has called some people, some powerful people to learn about you."

I pulled my brows together "And how would you know this?"

"Eric isn't the only vampire who has resources." He said "And since you're Sookie's friend…"

"You thought I should know." I finished his sentence for him "So… He does research about me and it means I'm in danger?"

"It means you caught his eye, and that means you're in danger."

"He can't do anything to me." I told them "Bureaucracy would chew his ass."

"He'd be careful enough not to leave any trace behind, that would lead them to him."

A shiver ran down my spine and I crossed my arms

"He put someone on my tail, I know about that…"

"The Queen knows you're here, for example."

My head snapped up and Sookie pulled her brows together

"The Queen?"

"Government probably let the Magisters know, what use would it be to him if the Queen knew?"

"What queen?"

"Vampires have this hierarchy…" I told her "At the top, there's the Authority, then Magisters, the monarchs, sheriffs, and other vampires without titles."

"And there's a Queen?"

"Of Louisiana." Bill nodded "I'm telling you to be careful. If Eric is your enemy…"

"I should watch my back." I nodded "I know."

_Fuck…_

I could hear my heart beat getting faster and tried to keep the panic at bay, then I downed the rest of my soda.

"Thanks." I told Bill "Really. I- it means a lot, I won't forget this."

"Good."

"I should- I should probably leave you to... get on with your date." I smiled at them "Going home. Good night!"

"Be careful."

"Always am." I said to Sookie, then walked out of the bar. I slid into my car, started it, then stepped on the accelerator.

_I'll be fine_. I assured myself _I'll be okay_.

He was doing some research about me, so what? I had done the same when I first got here…

Minutes later, I pulled over in front of my house. Trying to resist the urge to run to the house like a scared child, I inhaled deeply, locked the car and skedaddled into my house, letting go of a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.

I scrambled upstairs to take a shower, and after I was done, I got into my pajama shorts and tank top, ran my fingers through my wet hair and wandered back downstairs. I opened my laptop, sent the records to Connor, then switched on the TV, making myself comfortable on the couch.

Just as I had lit another cig, someone knocked on the door. I frowned slightly and pushed my body off the couch, and walked to the door. As soon as I opened it, I held my breath then abruptly coughed out:

"Mr Northman."

He just stood there and eyed me up and down, and even that was intimidating. I tried not to take a step back and close the door. He smirked as he heard my heartbeat start to gallop, and I gulped, crossing my arms, feeling naked compared to his black shirt and jeans.

"I don't respond well to threats, Valeria."

"I don't respond well to vampires putting people on my tail." I retorted, my nose in the air. "You had no right to do that."

He only arched his brows, shooting me a mocking look.

"It was just a test."

"Of?"

"Whether you're good at what you do."

I clenched my jaw "What's it to you?"

"If we put your childish behaviour behind us…" he said "I'm here to make you a job offer."

I gawked at him "What?" I asked, confused "Mr Northman, I already have a job."

He shot me a sideways smile "Think of it like a…side job."

"Working for you?" I asked "And let me guess, you'll want to know what my department is up to and such, about vampires."

He only watched me in silence.

"I'm afraid I'll have to-"

"With 10,000 bucks per case."

My jaw dropped "Just how much money do you have?!"

He just smiled and I inhaled more smoke, forcing myself to think clearly.

"I'm not interested in playing a double game."

"Twenty grand then."

"Is this you or your queen making me this offer?" I asked him and his look suddenly changed.

"And you accuse me of putting people on your tail."

"I don't need to put people on your tail, Mr Northman." I smiled at him sweetly and he huhed

"Impressive."

"Thank you. Either way, I'm not interested."

"Won't you invite me in so that I can convince you?" he asked and I let out a laugh

"Not really." I said as he took a step closer

"Valeria…"

"Mr Northman."

"You can call me Eric."

"I don't see us getting that friendly, Mr Northman." I said "And if that's all, I will be going to bed now. I'm sure you have someone in chains waiting for you back at Fangtasia, let's not waste each other's time."

He looked at me as if he couldn't believe it

"And also, I want the records." I said "The real records, Mr Northman, not those fake ones you gave me and thought I would actually fall for."

"You refuse me?" he asked slowly and I arched a brow

"You'll live. Well, technically."

"You sure about that decision?" he asked hoarsely, getting closer. Now only thin air was keeping us apart, that and the invisible wall between him and me. He towered over me and I could even smell his scent. The power radiating from him was almost too much, and I gulped, suddenly feeling a shiver all over my body.

"I can change everything you believe…" he muttered and I let myself look into his eyes, then pulled myself together.

"Mr Northman, I do believe you have an overrated opinion of what keeps popping up in your body other than your fangs, and I can assure you, I'm interested in neither." I pulled the cigarette from my lips, then exhaled the smoke right to his face "Good night."

I slammed the door to his face, and went to fling myself onto couch, trying to calm my heartbeat.

_"What keeps popping up in your body other than your fangs"? _

_Seriously, brain?_

* * *

_**A.N2: **_So, what do you think? Please tell me your opinions, comments, parts you liked, parts you didn't like, constructive criticism, ideas anything! =) I need to hear them!;)


	5. Charmer

**A.N: Heyyy! Here's the new chapter, I hope you all will like it! :) And please don't forget to review! :)**

******__********______****Disclaimer: ****True Blood belongs to the HBO and Charlaine Harris, and any resemblance ****______********between my OC's and real persons, dead or undead is purely coincidental. In this fanfiction, I only own the plot points where it is different than the show and books, ****______******** I also don't own the title of the chapter, it's a song by Kings Of Leon, ****______********nor do I own story's title, which is a Muse song.****______********  
**

**_Spoilers start from season 2_**

**Thanks so much to treewitch703 for betaing:) check out her work;) **

* * *

_"I can change everything you believe…" he muttered and I let myself look into his eyes, then pulled myself together._

_"Mr Northman, I do believe you have an overrated opinion of what keeps popping up in your body other than your fangs, and I can assure you, I'm interested in neither." I pulled the cigarette from my lips, then exhaled the smoke right to his face "Good night."_

_I slammed the door to his face, and went to fling myself onto couch, trying to calm my heartbeat._

* * *

"So then he appears on my doorstep, acting all_ 'See how I can intimidate you by standing here'_ and seems surprised that I didn't jump on him?! Nerve of the guy! And after giving me changed records!" I exclaimed and Sookie let out a laugh

"And you rejected him."

"Why does everyone ask that?"

"Well, as you can tell it by his reaction, he's not used to that."

"Well maybe he should try to actually makeconversation with a girl who isn't tied up, or who is not a fang-banger."

"Definitely!" she said "I mean, his ego needed that. But…"

"But what?"

"It might…backfire."

"What?"

"You know how some guys don't know the meaning of _no_?"

"Yeah."

"Eric is one of them."

I tilted my head to the right "How do you know so much about him?"

"He's a… he's a pain in my ass."

"Meaning?"

"He is interested in me because of my talent."

I stared at her "Lovely."

"Yeah."

"But I don't have a talent." I insisted "Well, back at the clan, when I was 7, we made a bet about who can scream longer and I won, but my voice kinda disappeared for two days-"

"Valeria."

"Right, I was saying-"

"He might be interested in you because of his ego." Sookie said "And as you know-"

"I'm a hunter." I finished her sentence "And he might make use of me."

"Bingo."

"So what happens now, then?"

"Well…" she trailed off, ignoring one of the customers as another waitress headed towards them, she leaned against the counter, crossing her arms "Now he annoys the shit out of you."

"No news then." I pointed out and leaned my head to my hand, heaving a sigh "I'll go there tonight. To Fangtasia... arrogant prick with no creative mind..."

"Why?"

"To get the original records." I said "Which he won't give, but at least I can officially make a complaint and let the other agents deal with him."

"I told you he wouldn't like it."

"I'm under the impression you are the type of person that likes to say _'I told you so.'_."

"I did tell you so." She laughed, and walked towards another customer who looked ready to order.

"Valeria." My head shot up as I heard my name, and someone sat beside me

"Jason! Hey!" I said "What's up?"

He shot me a smile "I'm on my break."

"Cool."

"So um…" he made himself comfortable "How's it going?"

"Mmmmm, 's OK." I shrugged "I'm trying to get used to the town. You?"

"Nothing much either." He said "You free tonight?"

"I have something I gotta do…" I said apologetically "Seriously, I'm not making excuses, but," I cleared my throat "Jason, you look like a great guy-"

"Uh oh, I know where this speech is going…"

I smiled at him "But, I don't do one night stands. Or relationships these days, so…"

"Oh, you got me wrong-"

"No she didn't."

"Damn it Sook!"

She laughed, looking at us over her shoulder as she walked to the kitchen and I pushed a stray bit of my hair behind my ear

"But, I mean it, if I ever decide to have a one night stand, your door will be the first door I'll knock."

He grinned "Yeah, okay."

"Okay." I nodded "By the way, I'm hooking you up with one of my friends if she ever gets here, she's all about Southern hospitality."

"Works for me." He said as Sookie put a plate in front of him

"Here you go, as usual."

"I'm so stealing some of them." I eyed the bacon in his plate and grabbed one

"Seriously, why do chicks do that?"

"Because it's a cheaper. For us."

"Not for me!" he swatted away my fork with his "It's my food!"

"I'm a newcomer here, where are your manners?" I exclaimed, hitting his fork with mine "Southern hospitality, dude! What would your ancestors think?"

"A man needs his meal-"

"And a girl's gotta eat." I joked, then stole another piece of bacon "Fine, go ahead. Eat. I wasn't hungry anyway."

"Finally, woman!"

"Hi Jason." A blonde girl said as she walked past us, then stopped next to him "How are you?"

"I'm fine." He grinned like a boy and I tried not to snort "You?"

"I'm good." She said, her eyes stopping on me, then snapped back to him "I'll see you around."

"Yeah." He said and stared after her as she walked away, swinging her hips, I on the other hand stole another piece of bacon from his plate before he could catch me.

_Yeah well, some swings hips, some steals food._

_That's one of many reasons why I'll en__d up with cats_.

"You should go for it." I said as he turned his attention back to his food

"Yeah?"

"Totally." I nodded fervently and he hmmed

"Been there done that."

"She seems very willing for you to be there do that again." I commented, grabbing my purse "I gotta go home, see you later?"

"Yep."

"Bye Sookie!"

"You're leaving?" she asked, carrying a plate and I nodded

"Yep, gotta get ready. See you later."

"Bye!"

I walked out of the bar and got into my car, then headed over to my house.

* * *

Okay, here's the thing, unlike many women, I'm not particularly fond of being in presence of arrogant and cold men. They annoy me, make me nervous and then I can't sleep at nights because I keep replaying our whole conversation and find better comebacks, and regret how I couldn't think of them before.

I didn't even like Mr Darcy.

Ugh.

"I'll be back in no time…" I muttered to myself as I got into my denim shorts. After pulling my hair up into a ponytail, I tucked my gun into my shorts, put a stake into my bag, and shouldered my bag. I made my way to downstairs, grabbed my keys from the counter and left the house.

As soon as I got in my car, my phone started ringing.

"Yello?"

"Val, hey…" Connor's voice reached my ears "What's up?"

"I'm on my way to Fangtasia, you?"

"I'm fine, um… You're- you're fine, right?"

"Why wouldn't I be fine?" I asked and he let out a shaky breath

"No reason. I just felt like asking…"

"Connor." I said warningly, my heart beat speeding up almost immediately "What happened?"

"It's nothing, really." He said "It's just-when was the last time you checked the department's website?"

"Not recently." I said "Why? Connor, what's going on?"

"It's Aiden."

I could feel the goosebumps rising on my skin, but I forced myself to calm down, gritting my teeth

"What about him?"

"He's- he has been promoted."

"To?"

"Director assistant."

My jaw dropped "You're joking."

"Nope. Hey, maybe he slept his way up to it, huh?"

I kept my eyes on the road while searching through my bag for a cigarette, "Fuck this shit."

"Val, listen, I know what happened affected you really badly but, it's a job, you know? You have to-"

"I know." I murmured through frozen lips "It's like they're fucking rewarding him."

"It's not a reward."

"Right."

"You wouldn't even want that position-"

"I wouldn't, but he just got higher than us." I said through my teeth, clamping the cig between my lips while I lit it. "I just… Can I call you later?"

"Okay. Be careful."

"I'll try." I said, and hung up. I inhaled the smoke, then gulped, the fury rising inside of me, clouding my judgment.

"Screw this." I muttered to myself, then slowed almost enough to pull a 360 then stepped on the accelerator. Deep down, I knew that this was a bad idea, but for some reason I couldn't bring myself to care.

I pulled over when I saw Jason's house which he had shown me the first night we had returned from Grill, and got out of the car.

"This is a bad idea…" I said out loud when I got to his door. I raised my fist to knock, then lowered it

"This is a fucking horrible idea," I said, then turned around, but the door opened

"Valeria?"

"Oh fuck, you're home." I turned around to see Jason half naked, then tried to avert my gaze. "Um… You know what? I don't even know why I'm here, it's just that, I'm extremely angry at my ex, and- and I gotta distract myself and every TV show and movie says that sex grants you distraction from your ex, so here I am. Tadaa." I let out a nervous laugh "So that's- that's how it works, right? I was serious about not doing one night stands, you gotta tell me how it-"

"Jason?" a feminine voice reached my ears and the blonde girl from Grill came into my view in only underwear "You coming back to bed?"

He sucked in a breath and my eyes widened

"In a second, go." He told the girl, who only grinned and walked back towards the interior. I tried to ignore my blushing that spread on my cheeks almost immediately and rubbed the back of my neck

"It's awkward."

"Yeah it is."

"So um… congratulations on getting laid." I raised my fist in an encouraging gesture "Good, it's… that's a good thing. People getting laid. You know, crucial for world population-"

"If I knew you were- I mean-"

"Oh no, it's- it's fine, no worries. I should probably stop walking in on people."

"Valeria."

"It's becoming a habit already, really-"

"Val." He said again and I heaved a sigh

"Don't worry, anger gets me do stupid stuff and it's.. universe's way of telling me _what the fuck are you doing_, so. It's good. It was an impulsive idea, and… I should get back to my work- business. My own business. Good night."

_God, can you please strike me with lightning? Please?_

"Yeah, um… good night." He put his hands into his pockets "I'll see you around."

"Yeah." I nodded, breathlessly "I'll see you around."

I turned around and walked back to my car, rubbing my face.

"Fuck." I slammed my door and started the car "Universe hates me."

I stepped on the accelerator, spinning gravel every which-way, driving as fast as I could and trying to focus on the music booming from my speakers.

_Don't think about anything but the road, don't think about anything but the road, don't think about anything but the road_…

I managed to keep the thoughts away until I got to Fangtasia. I stopped the car, screwing my face up in disgust, yearning for this night to be over, so that I could go home and hide under my covers.

"You again?" Pamela drawled as she saw me and I rolled my eyes, gripping the straps of my bag tighter

"Not tonight. Can I pass?"

"Sure, after you leave your gun."

I raised my brows "What?"

"New rules."

"Pamela, I'm an official hunter, I have the right to carry my gun."

"Not in the club."

"What- you know what, I'm too tired to fight with you." I handed her my gun "Here, can I pass now?"

She eyed me up and down, a smirk pulling at her lips "Sure." She stepped aside and I entered the club. I walked through the crowd and took a look at the empty throne at the corner, pulling my eyebrows together. Where was-?

Before I could think anything else, I felt someone grab me and all of a sudden, I was pulled into the other side of the club. The vampire pressed me against the wall, hissing at me, baring his fangs but I flipped us over and kicked him in the chest. He flew through the air, hit the door and landed outside.

Huh. Back exit.

"Dude, seriously?!" I exclaimed when I stepped outside and saw the same vampire from my first night at Fangtasia "Get the fuck over it already!"

He grinned slightly and struck, but I got out of the way and avoided his attack,

_My gun…_

"I warned you didn't I?"

"Your mouth says no but…" he trailed off as we circled each other

"Ew. Creep." I said as he lunged once again, but this time, I wasn't as lucky. I lost time while getting my stake from my bag and throwing the bag to the ground, so he grabbed me by the shoulders and slammed me to ground, biting my neck. As my vision started to go black, I gripped the stake and in a flash I slammed it right through his back to his heart, my own heart racketing painfully against my ribcage. I heard the sickening sound of wood penetrating flesh and he exploded into glop, drenching me completely. I gagged as I crawled on the ground, doubling up, still holding onto the stake. I fell on my back and my vision got blurry, only the street lights and red light of surveillance cameras remaining.

Wait a second-

"You son of a bitch…" I breathed out as the thought hit me, then everything went black.

* * *

_**A.N2: **_So, what do you think? Please tell me your opinions, comments, parts you liked, parts you didn't like, constructive criticism, ideas anything! =) I need to hear them!;)


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